Pool Party
by Flaming Trails
Summary: My first BTTF: TAS story! A filler scene for Gone Fishin'.


Pool Party

By Flaming Trails

A Back To The Future: The Animated Series Story

Disclaimer: I don't own BTTF: TAS. If I did, Christopher Lloyd would have done Doc's voice.

Note: This story is from "Gone Fishin'." It's like a missing scene, but it isn't in script form.

  


August 28th, 1926

Hollywood, California

3: 42 P. M.

The phone on the table abruptly rang. Uncle Oliver answered it. "Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Ya volt!" He hung up, looking very excited. "Just as soon as he does one last stunt. Daredevil Brown is going over America's tallest waterfall -- in a barrel!"

Jules's, Verne's, and Marty's mouths all fell open in shocked horror. Too stunned to speak for a moment, they just stared at each other. Uncle Oliver didn't seem to care. "I must go and tell Emmett! What an adventure for a little kinder such as him!" He dashed into the house.

Jules was the first to say something. "Jumping Jigowatts," he moaned. "This situation is escalating out of control."

"We gotta do something!" Verne gasped, looking a little frightened.

"Yeah, but what?" Marty wondered, getting out of the pool. 

Jules scratched his head. "I'll need some time to formulate a possible plan."

August 28th, 1926

10: 33 P. M.

Marty fiddled with his sunglasses as he lay on the bed, still dressed in his bathing suit. Nearby, sitting on the floor, Jules and Verne were discussing how to keep their future father safe from harm. "We shoulda never taken him on the stupid fishing trip in the first place!" Verne complained, frustrated by their efforts.

Jules frowned. "An astute observation, sibling, but one that comes too late in our temporal time frame. If we can't figure out a suitable plan here in the present, however, we should go back and attempt to stop ourselves in the past." He looked over some "Daredevil Brown" advertisements.

Marty flipped closed his sunglasses, frowning. Although he was just as worried as Jules and Verne for little Doc's safety, something about the little boy's expression earlier today was bugging him. "I wonder how Doc -- Emmett's doing," he said, correcting himself. "He seemed pretty upset this afternoon when Uncle Ollie wouldn't let him go in the pool."

Jules glanced up. "I imagine he was upset. Hopefully his dissatisfaction with his current state of affairs will aid us in our plans to set history back on course."

"Uh -- what he said," Verne nodded, somewhat lost. "He'll be okay as long as he doesn't go in that barrel."

"Precisely, Verne," Jules smiled. He brought out a map of the U. S. A. and leaned over it with a compass. "Now, despite the exaggerations of the press, our future paternal unit's popularity is mostly contained in these radii." He circled a few places on the map. "Extrapolating from--"

Marty was still bothered. He wasn't sure whether it was because Emmett was so little, or because he would grow up into Doc, Marty's best friend. All he knew is that he was worried about the kid. "Hey, guys, maybe we should see how he's doing."

Jules looked up again, now frowning in annoyance. "Martin, we can't risk further damage to the space-time continuum! Emmett will get over it. It happens all the time with Verne."

"Hey!"

Marty got up with a shrug. "Then you guys keep working on that plan, and I'll go see him. Trust me, Jules, you don't have to lecture me about dangers to the space-time continuum. I was the first person to use a time machine after all. I think we've already done enough to screw it up."

Jules had to nod his agreement to that. "If you insist, Martin. Pay attention, Verne. We have to come up with a suitable plan to prevent ourselves from being erased from existence. Not to mention possibly dooming Father to an early death."

Jules's speech to his younger brother faded out as Marty left the room. The halls, normally a garish pink with gold-leaf, looked far better in the moonlight. He paused for a moment to wiggle his toes in the luxuriously thick carpets, then went looking for Emmett's door. He found it, marked with a little pinned-up sign:

Emmett's Room

All Scientists Welcome

Marty chuckled and knocked on the door. There was no answer, so he knocked again. "I don't want to talk, Uncle Oliver," came Emmett's voice from within. Marty frowned as he realized the tone was kinda strangled -- like he'd been crying.

"It's me, Marty," he called back. "Uncle Ollie's in bed."

There was a second pause, then the door creaked open, revealing Emmett, still in his clothes. His eyes were red and puffy, and his hair was severely mussed. He looked at Marty in confusion. "I -- I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Marty confessed.

"Thank you," Emmett said, his voice sad. "Did you hear me --?"

Marty shook his head. "Tough day, huh? Uncle Ollie told us you didn't take the news about the barrel too good."

"Well," Emmett gently corrected, his brown eyes starting to fill with tears. "I'm four years old, Marty! I don't want to do all these feats!"

"I know, I know," Marty comforted, reaching down and patting Emmett's shoulder. Jesus, I never thought I'd be able to pat Doc on the shoulder. He's always been way too tall. That's something I've got now that he doesn't. "If it's any help, Clint and Calvin are trying to find a way to get you out of it." Clint and Calvin were, respectively, Jules's and Verne's aliases in this time. They had gotten the idea from Marty's previous aliases. Marty just wished he'd thought of it first instead of letting Verne call him "Marty."

Emmett managed a small smile. "That's nice of them," he sniffed, wiping his eyes.

Marty felt very bad. Here was a four-year-old kid who had only wanted to go fishing with his uncle, and he'd been thrown into the frightening world of stardom. He wanted to do something for him, cheer him up somehow. . . .

Then he got an idea. He leaned down over the sniffling youngster. "Hey," he said quietly, "what say we take a dip in that pool out there? Just the two of us."

Emmett looked back up at him, surprised. "But -- but my Uncle said--" he began.

Marty silenced him with a wave. "He doesn't have to know! Besides, who's doing all the work to pay for that pool?"

Emmett started to smile, warming to the idea. "Well, okay. Will Clint and Calvin be accompanying us?"

Marty glanced back towards their door. He wasn't so sure about Jules, but he was almost certain Verne would want to go swimming. "I'll ask 'em. You go get your bathing suit on and meet me out here."

Emmett nodded eagerly and disappeared back into his room. Marty grinned and headed back to their room. He poked his head in to see Jules and Verne arguing again. "Jules, Verne, you wanna--"

Jules turned on him, looking vicious. It was obvious he was stressed. "You know, if you actually cared about Father, you'd be helping us instead of uselessly wandering the halls."

All charitable thoughts left Marty's mind. If he actually cared about Doc?? He was the one helping make Emmett happy again! And he was the one who had helped Doc way before either Jules or Verne had shown up. His face twisted into an angry mask, and he slammed the door shut.

Verne looked after him, chewing on his bubble gum thoughtfully. Being something like Marty himself, he had taken a guess at the teen's thoughts. "Jules, I think you made him really mad," he said.

Jules cooled, now looking down at his feet regretfully. "I believe so too. I shouldn't have talked to him like that. I'll apologize when he returns."

Outside, Marty paced the hall, feeling steamed. "That damn kid always thinks he's better than me. Ungrateful little--"

He cut himself off as Emmett reappeared, now attired in a blue bathing suit. The teen perked up, glad to spend time with his best friend. Even if Emmett didn't know that yet. "Hey there, Daredevil."

Emmett scowled a little. "Daredevil is my work name." He looked up and down the hall. "Aren't Clint and Calvin coming?"

Marty struggled to keep his temper under control. "They're too busy with the barrel stuff. Maybe they'll drop in later." He smiled for the four-year-old's benefit. "Let's beat it to the pool."

They cautiously made their way outside, the thick carpet muffling their footsteps. The pool glistened in the moonlight, looking almost magical. Marty and Emmett crept up to it, snickering to themselves and each other. They stood at the edge of the pool, ready to dive in, when Marty had a thought. "Uh -- Emmett? You do know how to swim, right?"

Emmett looked up at him innocently. "I can doggie-paddle really well."

Marty steered him to the shallow end. "We'd better get in here."

They climbed down the ladder, Emmett going first. The four-year-old immediately ducked under the water. Marty jumped off to see Emmett resurface and start paddling happily. The teen laughed and started swimming over. They did a few laps together around the pool, then Emmett tried to climb on top of Marty. Marty picked him up and dunked him as Emmett squealed happily. 

After a few minutes of splashing, Marty grabbed the inner tube. As he climbed in, he had a thought. "Emmett, what do you think your parents are going to say about all this?"

Emmett frowned, floating on his belly. "They'll probably yell at Uncle Oliver, take the money, and tell me not to talk about this. Neither Father nor Mother are fond of moving pictures."

Marty paddled over to him. "Too bad."

Emmett nodded, climbing onto Marty's lap. "They'll like the money, though. Father hoards all our money. He doesn't trust banks."

It abruptly occurred to Marty that they might have given Doc a larger family fortune than he'd had the first time. Too late to worry about that now, he thought. "He sounds kinda paranoid."

Emmett nodded again, smiling a little. "Especially for a veterinarian." He looked at his reflection thoughtfully. "Marty, do you think that anybody here will remember me when we return to Milwaukee? Somebody I talked to after one of my movies told me nobody here is remembered after a month."

Marty shrugged. "I dunno. But I'll never forget you," he added, giving Emmett a hug. 

Emmett hugged back tightly. "Thanks, Marty. I bet we'll be friends for a long time."

Marty couldn't help but laugh. "Kid, it might even span a century."

August 29th, 1926

Hollywood

9: 56 A. M.

"EMMETT!"

Both Emmett and Marty started awake, falling off the inner tube into the water. Bobbing to the surface, they could see Uncle Oliver, Jules, and Verne by the edge of the pool. Jules and Verne were smiling, Uncle Oliver jumping up and down in a fit. "Ach Die Lieber!" he yelled, furious. "Emmett, get out of that pool!"

"No!" Emmett yelled back, clinging to Marty and sounding far more like a normal four-year-old.

Uncle Oliver ran over and snatched Emmett out of Marty's arms. "You crazy kinders! Leave my Emmett alone!"

Emmett sulked, folding his arms. "I was enjoying myself, Uncle. I never get to swim."

"Emmett, where we're going, you'll have all the water in the world to swim in! Now come along, you have to get ready." He dragged Emmett off. Marty gave him a wave and a shrug. Emmett just sighed unhappily.

As Marty climbed out of the pool, Jules, blushing, turned to him. "Martin, I--"

Marty waved him off. "It's okay, Jules. I know you didn't mean it. You guys think of anything?"

"Besides going back in time? Naw," Verne admitted.

Jules shrugged. "I think we'll have a better opinion on our course of action on-site. We'd better get ready ourselves." 

Marty glanced back in Emmett's direction. "I sure hope we can help him out."

The End


End file.
